UNIVERSITY OF VAASA Faculty of Humanities
ICS-program
Tabi Emilia Beyong
Teaching Heritage Languages to Children
Perspectives of Kenyan Immigrant Mothers in Finland and their Efforts
Master’s Thesis
Vaasa 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FIGURES AND TABLES 3
ABSTRACT 5
1. INTRODUCTION 7
1.1 Background: Language context in Kenya 8
1.3 Kenyan migration to Finland 10
1.4 Aim and objectives of the research 13
1.5 Structure of the thesis 14
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 15
2.1 Language Maintenance 15
2.1.1 Language maintenance of a community 17
2.1.2 Language Loss 17
2.1.3 Acculturation 18
2.2 Language, Identity, and Diaspora 21
2.2.1 Identity 22
2.2.2 Language and identity 23
2.2.3 Cultural identity and the Diasporas 24
2.3 Heritage Language 25
2.3.1 Heritage language learner 25
2.3.2 Heritage language teaching and learning 26
2.3.3 Heritage language teaching in a formal setting 27
2.3.4 Heritage language teaching in informal setting 30
2.3.5 Language teaching and gender 31
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 32
3.1 Narrative Interviews 32
3.2 Thematic Analysis 33
4 DATA COLLECTION 34
4.1 Interviewed participants for the study 34
4.2 Method of Interviews Conducted in English 37
5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 38
5.1 Views on Swahili as national language 38
5.2 Role of Swahili in Finland 40
5.3 Language as a tool for identity construction 42
5.4 Teaching Swahili 43
5.5 Role of Swahili classes 49
6 DISCUSSION 51
7 CONCLUSION 54
WORKS CITED 56
FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURES
Figure 1: Monthly population increase in Finland (2013 - 2017) 12
Figure 2: Four acculturation strategies. (Berry 2005:705) 20
TABLES
Table 1: The population of Kenyans living in Finland from 2005-2014 11
Table 2: The general statistics of participants 35
Table 3: The profile of participants 36
--- UNIVERSITY OF VAASA
Faculty of Philosophy
Program: ICS: Languages and Communication Author: Tabi Emilia Beyong
Master’s Thesis: Teaching Heritage Languages to Children: Perspectives of Kenyan Immigrant Mothers in Finland and Their Efforts
Degree: Master of Arts Date: 2017
Supervisor: Daniel Rellstab
---
ABSTRACT
Maintenance of linguistic and cultural identity has become a crucial issue for most immigrant groups. Most acknowledge upholding their heritage languages as a key approach to maintaining cultures and identities. In Finland, heritage language teaching is observed as a common practice through the encouragement of the Finnish National Education Authorities. This allows migrant children to receive lessons in their native languages, in order to uphold their heritage languages.
Some Diaspora communities in the country have taken advantage of this provision to maintain and revive their heritage languages.
This research looks at multiculturalism and languages in the Diasporas, under the heading of heritage language teaching specifically among Kenyan immigrants in Finland. It explores the attitudes of Kenyan immigrant mothers towards Swahili, and their methods in passing on this linguistic and cultural heritage to their children in Finland. Twelve Kenyan immigrant mothers having children between the ages of two to twenty were interviewed. Using qualitative research method, the transcribed data were analyzed with the use of thematic analysis.
Results demonstrate that Swahili is viewed as a unifying language in Kenya. However, passing on Swahili as a heritage language to children in Finland is not unanimously agreed on. Many other definitive factors such as marriages to people of other nationalities, the dominance of Finnish, the benefits attached to the Finnish language, significantly influence this outcome.
Keywords: Heritage Language, Language Maintenance, Cultural Identity and Diaspora, Kenyan Immigrants.
1. INTRODUCTION
International migration is one of the most important issues in the world today. More people than ever before are crossing different international borders. These movements consequentially have triggered different socio-cultural and linguistic interactions. (Montoya 2009: 65) As individuals and families move and settle in other countries, for different reasons, the desire for their children to speak and maintain their home language remains in the affirmative. (Chen 2013: 1) According to Duff (2008: 71), the maintenance of the home language also enables the children to establish cultural identity.
With language learning also now more salient than ever, new multilingual generations are birthed as multilingual environments are reconstructed. (Della 2012) Many studies show that children of immigrants rarely maintain their parents’ heritage language. (Chen 2013: 1) Preserving heritage language in host societies, therefore, remains challenging. But since children’s ability to maintain strong social and emotional ties to their parents and extended relatives in source countries is important (Alzayed 2015), it is therefore very essential to teach them their heritage language.
Although studies demonstrate that learning one’s own heritage language facilitates the learning of other languages (Tallroth 2012), it, however, remains challenging to extract this advantage, as many children find learning or maintaining another language unnecessary as they are always accustomed to the languagesof the host community. In Finland, significant effort has been on the part of the government to support the maintenance of heritage language due to its role in integration. (Protassova 2008) According to scholars, heritage language is often used to identify a minority or immigrant language different from the dominant language in any given context. (Cabo, 2016: 3) Although many immigrant communities are still to take advantage of the government policy, a few like Russian, Somalia, and Kenyan have already seized the opportunity.
It would be interesting to know how well children of immigrants acquire their home language, yet few studies have been conducted on the subject in Finland particularly on African languages.
Motivated by the generally scanty research on Swahili as a heritage language, my objective in this study is to look at how Kenyan immigrants pass on Swahili to their children as their heritage language. In this study, the participants are Kenyan mothers raising their children in Finland.
The choice of the specific target group as “Kenyan Immigrant Mothers” was highly influenced by the African context of women, a culture where mothers are considered guardians of children, husbands and the entire household. Therefore, they have a responsibility to teach and uphold the
culture, language, and tradition of the family and ethnic group. Consequently, the choice of the home language may be largely influenced by the mother. This thus is the reason Kenyan immigrant mothers are the target group for this study.
1.1 Background: Language context in Kenya
Kenya is a country located in the Eastern part of Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania. According to the Official Government Website (2012), the country covers over 581,309 km2. It has a population of about 46,100,000 inhabitants (World Bank 2016). It has nine major ethnic groups with Kikuyu as the majority, comprising about 22% of the total population. Other major ethnic groups include Luhya (14%), Luo (13%), Kalejin (12%), Kamba (11%), Kesii (6%), Meru (6%). Descents from other African countries also form a significant part of the society. They compose of 15% while non-Africans (Arabs, Asians, and Europeans) make up 1 percent of the population. (Sobania 2003: xi-xiv)
Linguistically, Kenya is a multilingual country. Due to the high multicultural nature of the country, an average Kenyan speaks at least three languages. This is because of the existence of different ethnolinguistics groups in the country and the need to interact with different persons in diverse settings. Studies portray varying estimates in the number of languages spoken in Kenya. Some place the number of spoken languages between 30 and 60 (see Heine and Möhlig 1980; Batibo 2005; and Githiora 2005). For Mwaka (2009) the number ranges between 41 and 61, excluding the common slang called Sheng used by youths in the urban areas with a grammar similar to Swahili.
However, of these, about 65% are Bantu, between 30-32 % Nilo-Saharan, while the rest are of the Cushitic family. (Githiora 2005)
Due to complications and superfluities inherent in the documentation of the number of languages, an earlier estimate put the number of indigenous languages in the country to about forty. (Muaka 2009) Although recent studies put the number to 81 languages (Hammarström et al. 2016), there exists overall complexity in estimating the actual number of spoken languages due to the insufficient knowledge of the linguistic situation (Githiora 2005; Muaka 2009). Nonetheless, it remains difficult to differentiate between dialects and languages. (Muaka 2009)
Simons and Charles (2017) claim that despite the number of languages in Kenya, Swahili and English remain official languages, alongside while 68 other spoken languages used by ethnic groups. Of these, 67 are living and 1 is extinct. “Of the living languages, 60 are indigenous and 7
are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 12 are institutional, 34 are developing, 15 are vigorous, 2 are in trouble, and 4 are dying.” (Simons and Charles 2017) These languages consist of tribal African languages, Nilotic languages spoken in the Western part of the country, Bantu languages spoken in the Southeast and Central region and the Cushitic languages spoken by the inhabitants of the northwest. Still, in this domain, non-African foreigners speak other non-African languages like Arabic and Hindi. Each ethnic group has its language and tends to view Swahili as a national language taught in school and spoken by Kenyans. (Trillo 2002: 67- 68)
With regard to the language policy in Kenya, the education system acknowledges English as a medium of instruction (Muaka 2009) as it is the dominant and main language of instruction in urban schools at all levels, though Swahili is still used in the school setting. In rural areas where linguistic homogeneity exists, the language policy recognizes indigenous languages as the language of instruction from the initial stage of education, that is, from Standard One until Standard Three, with English taught as a subject. (Mugambi 2002) Swahili is also taught from Standard One, specifically in multi-ethnic contexts, until Third Grade. After the Third Grade, Swahili is included in the curriculum as a subject and the indigenous languages are replaced with English as the medium of instruction. Teachers usually consider the teaching of indigenous languages as irrelevant because they are not tested in the national examinations. This is because of the linguistic, political and social prestige which accompanies the use of Englishlanguage. (Mugambi 2002) The fact that students must have a passing grade in English before admittance to Kenyan public university better explains the role of English in public domains regarding the career pursuit. It is also worth noting that Swahili and English dominate the urban area while ethnic languages are dominant home languages in the rural areas where culture and oral history is still of great value because they carry the people’s culture and oral history. (Muaka 2009)
In the domain of media, the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), controlled by the government, uses English and Swahili as languages of operation. The National Service Broadcast from Nairobi (Capital city) has all its programs strictly in Swahili, and the General Service broadcast in English from Nairobi. There are also regional radio stations set up by the governments and all the radio programs operate in at least seventeen major regional languages on a four-hour basis per day. There also exist FM radio stations which use different local languages to function all day. For example, Kamene FM in Kikuyu, Mirembe FM in Luhya, Ramogi FM in Dholuo, and Musyi FM in Kamba. In addition to these stations, there are other FM stations which are popular
to the public. Reporters in these stations use Swahili and English in their broadcast and Sheng in talk shows mostly in urban areas. (Muaka 2011: 218-220)
From the language policies of both public and private media, the promotion of English and Swahili is quite evident, although the private media to a limited degree encourages and allows the liberal use of local languages and Sheng. (Muaka 2011: 218-220) Local languages are often marginalized in Kenya, as they are perceived as obstacles to success in educational and government domains.
However, these local languages serve as identity markers, play significant roles in religious and community development projects, and are tools for business transactions especially in rural areas.
In addition, local languages are used by local rulers in the rural areas like village headmen, sub- chiefs, and chiefs. Notwithstanding, Kenyan local languages play a great role in the implementation of official policies, thus it is unfair for these languages to suffer continuous marginalization in Kenyan public domains. (Muaka 2011: 218-220)
1.3 Kenyan migration to Finland
Although Finland does not have a long history of immigration in general, the 1980s and 1990s, however, witnessed a twist in this trend in the country. This period which reshaped demographic history also unraveled a new page in the country’s migratory dynamics. This was mainly influenced by two major inputs. Firstly, the country received a great increase in the number of returnees to Finland. The majority were returnees from Sweden, who had left Finland during the periods of economic hardship between the 1950s and 1970s. (Korkiasaari and Söderling 2003) Other returnees were from other parts of Europe, the United States, who had to flee during the civil unrest before 1917. (Korkiasaari and Söderling 2003: 3-7)
Secondly, the 1990s on their part saw the country alternated into a receiving country. This was motivated by the rapid economic turnaround witnessed in the mid-1990s. Many countries, like Kenya, have taken advantage of a new open door approach as well as Finland’s external relation and have established close ties with the country. The country has over the last three decades enjoyed very close political and socio-economic relationship with Finland. Through cooperation ties and other avenues, many Kenyans have migrated to Finland. (Korkiasaari and Söderling 2003:
7-10)
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland, Kenya and Finland have been partners for over 35 years, with the relation recognized since June 1965. Finland’s primary objective is to assist
the Kenyan society politically and socio-economically. In order to achieve the above objectives, Finland cooperates directly with the Kenyan government and has missions in Kenya. For example, the Finnish embassy in Nairobi, which directs the Local Cooperation Fund (LCF), sponsors many NGOs with goals of promoting human rights and good governance. In addition, the availability of an Honourable Consulate based in Mombasa, Kenya, helps to regulate Finland’s affairs in Kenya.
These bilateral relations between the two countries have resulted in an increasing number of Kenyans in Finland. The table below illustrates the population of Kenyans in Finland between 2005 and 2014 and indicates that over the years the number has almost tripled. From the information, it is noticed that the population of Kenyans in Finland has increased from 496 in 2005 to 1287 in 2014. Though there is not much disparity between the male and female population, the recent information (2014) indicates that there are more Kenyan women than men in Finland.
Table 1: The population of Kenyans living in Finland from 2005-2014
Year Men Women Total
2005 261 235 496
2006 302 276 578
2007 332 321 653
2008 378 382 760
2009 412 414 826
2010 446 450 896
2011 483 497 980
2012 547 537 1084
2013 587 611 1198
2014 611 676 1287
Apart from Kenyans, many other migrant communities exist in Finland. Although the racial and political and physical climate of Finland has not always been favorable toward immigrants (Protassavo 2008), over the year, the population of immigrants has nonetheless slowly but steadily
increased. According to Statistics Finland (2016), the total population of the country by the end of 2015 was around 5.4 million inhabitants. Recent statistics (at the end of January) show that population has slightly increased to 5,502,640 inhabitants. (Statistics Finland 2017) The figure below shows a change in Finland’s population from the years 2013 to 2017. The figure demonstrates that migration plays a vital role in the country’s population. Immigration exceeded emigration by 1201 as a result of migration gain from abroad.
Figure 1: Monthly population increase in Finland (2013 - 2017)
According to the above figure 1, there has been an increase in immigrants from the year 2013 to 2017. “According to the preliminary statistics for January 2017, 2,484 persons immigrated to Finland from abroad and 1,283 persons emigrated from Finland. The number of immigrants was 283 higher and the number of emigrants 232 less than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In all, 646 of the immigrants and 921 of the emigrants were Finnish citizens.” (Statistic Finland 2017)
Although the increase in immigrants is evident throughout the country, Helsinki, the capital and most multicultural city in the country experience more increase in immigrants than other cities.
According to a 2017 fact sheet, the city of Helsinki in particular and the Uusimaa region, in general, have experienced a significant increase in foreigners in the recent past. By the end of 2015, slightly over 11 percent of the region’s population speak a language other than Finnish and Swedish as a mother tongue. (City of Helsinki Urban Facts 2017). A 2016 study, however, shows that the biggest
foreign-language speaking groups include Russian speakers, (72,436 persons), followed by Estonian speakers, (48,087 persons), and then Somali speakers, (17,871 persons). Furthermore, an overview of the country portrays that the total number of foreign language speakers has also slightly increased from 5.4 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2016. (Statistics Finland 2016) Other cities like Tampere, Turku, not leaving out Vaasa are also gradually becoming more cosmopolitan as result of the influx of immigrants. (Gropas and Triandafyllidou 2014: 124-131)
The insurgence of immigrants in Finland cannot be overemphasized. It has greatly impacted the society as a whole (Gropas and Triandafyllidou 2014) especially the linguistic landscape. Although there is the need for migrants to integrate into the country, the question of upholding particularly their languages and cultures or assimilate into the new culture still looms. Dominant immigrant communities of Russians (Protassova 2008) and Somalian have already developed heritage teaching and learning programs for their children.
1.4 Aim and objectives of the research
It is, therefore, the thrust of this study to examine the effort made by Kenyan immigrants in Finland with regard to maintaining their heritage language. My interest and focus on Kenyan and Swahili is simply due to the fact that relatively scanty research has been conducted on this small community and their efforts to teach and maintain their heritage language. The study will, therefore, contribute to a sound social policy of integration of immigrants into the Finnish society.
The study essentially seeks to investigate the attitudes and initiatives of Kenyan immigrant mothers towards maintaining Swahili as a heritage language to their offspring. This will be achieved through the following specific objectives which analyze the views of Kenyan immigrant mothers towards teaching and maintaining Swahili as a heritage language and to carefully examine the methods used by these mothers in passing on Swahili to their offspring.
This research answers the following questions:
1. What are the views of Kenyan immigrant mothers on Swahili as a heritage language and why is it important or not important for them to pass on this language to their children?
2. How do these mothers educate their children in Swahili?
The answers to the aforementioned questions draw on semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 Kenyan immigrant mothers with children between the ages of two to twenty living in the Uusimaa region of Finland. The interviews are analyzed using thematic analysis.
1.5 Structure of the thesis
This study opens with the first chapter introducing the main idea of the entire work including general background knowledge of the topic under study. The second chapter discusses the important concepts of language maintenance; language, identity, and diaspora; acculturation and heritage language. The third chapter focuses on the methodology used in analysing the data.
Further, Chapter four presents the data collected for the research, elaborating on the profile of interviewed participants and the method used in collecting the data. Chapter five analyses the data in relation to the research questions, chapter six discusses the results of the analyses; the final conclusions of the research are presented in chapter seven.
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In this section, this study focuses on these three broad themes: language maintenance; language, identity, and diaspora; and heritage language. Each theme will be defined and elaborated, discussion on the literature will be based on how heritage languages are maintained with a particular focus on Swahili as a heritage language.
2.1 Language maintenance
Moshe Nahir (2003: 439), defines language maintenance as follows:
“Language Maintenance is the preservation of the use of a group’s native language where political, social, economic, educational, or other pressures threaten or cause (or are perceived to threaten or cause) a decline in the status of the language as a means of communication cultural medium, or a symbol of group or national identity.” (Moshe Nahir 2003: 439)
Milroy and Milroy (1997: 52) quoted in Marongiu (2007: 52),also defined language maintenance as “an overt, institutional process of maintaining a particular variety of language in a population where there is wide enough linguistic diversity to make communication difficult.”
The context of this process is a bilingual community and may include government intervention through language planning and policy. In some instances, it can be a hidden and an imposed language policy through education. For example, instituting a language as the only language of instruction in schools automatically makes it superior to other languages in that community.
(Marongiu 2007: 52-54)
In situations where languages in contact compete for maintenance when a small group of migrants fails to uphold their migrant language, another language may take the dominant position within this group. This may lead to a decrease in the speakers of the said migrant language due to lack of confidence and competence of its speakers. Thus, using the migrant language as a home language or language of instruction in heritage language schools and community gives the language exposure and rebuilds the confidence and identity of its speakers. (Marongiu 2007: 53-55)
There is a difference between migrant and minority language when discussing language maintenance and heritage language. For the purpose of clarity in this study, migrant language is used to discuss language maintenance. On one hand, a minority language can be defined as “the
language spoken by less than fifty percent of the population in a given territory or country.” On the other hand, migrant language is a language spoken by immigrants in a foreign country. The difference between minority and migrant language is that while a minority language is spoken by a minor group within the country of origin, a migrant language is spoken in a foreign country by a minor group of people who have moved from their country of origin. (Grenoble and Adam Roth 2014: 1)
Generally, the idea of language maintenance is shadowy or “less than crystal clear” (Edwards 2004:
457). A language can nonetheless be preserved in written form, but spoken only by few (or none).
As such, maintenance does imply a continuity in the spoken medium. So, for a language to be maintained it is necessary for it to have a sustained transmission tract, without which it becomes vulnerable and threatened. Although Edwards (2004: 462) has pointed out that objectives of language maintenance include promotion of bilingualism, biculturalism and the revival of heritage languages, other authors state that two main factors foster language maintenance. In Kloss’ (1966) write-up cited by Edwards (2010: 85), the factors are clear-cut and ambivalent at the same time.
The clear-cut and ambivalent factors include “an early point of immigration, the existence of linguistic enclaves, membership of a denomination with parochial schools, and pre-emigration experience with language maintenance.” (Davis and Elder 2004: 709) In very pluralistic settings where many languages come in contact, there is a tremendous possibility for migrant languages to be endangered. In order to prevent the total disappearance of these languages, language maintenance comes to play. Language maintenance schools are viewed as options (Fishman 2001:83), because of increased immigration, with many groups viewing their language to be at risk as they come in contact with other languages. (Edwards 2004: 458; Toppelberg and Collins 2010) Bradley (2002) proposed that the key factor that determines the success or failure of maintaining a language is the language attitude of its speakers and the significance attached to the minority language as a mark of identity. Language attitudes can be expressed through the overall attitudes of individuals or the community as a whole towards language maintenance. Also, factors such as the choice of the majority language being the home language in order to facilitate integration into the majority society on the one hand, and parents trying to maintain and promote children’s proficiency in the minority language, on the other hand, may influence language attitude. (Bradley 2002: 1-22)
Another factor that influences language attitude is the historical background of the language, writings, songs, and stories in a language can help build the confidence of its speakers. The
language policies of speakers of the majority language may also influence the maintenance of the minority language. In a community where speakers of the majority language adopt monolingual policies, speakers of the minority language are often educated on the advantages of being bilingual as to having the ability to code-switch in interactions and above all a wide knowledge of the world’s view. (Bradley 2002: 1-22)
2.1.1 Language maintenance of a community
Jackson’s (1999) definition of community highlights that a community has an unlimited number of members who hold the same norms, shared values and sets of understanding. In addition, the members of ethnic communities can identify one another with symbols, norms, and meanings and construct an identity. Therefore, ethnicity is a socially defined category of people who share a common cultural heritage, ancestry, cultural experience, language or dialect, history, and homeland. (Jackson 1999: 9-10)
According to Fought (2006) language clearly, classifies an ethnic community as among the social and cultural shared factors that reveal the uniqueness of a group. Hence, language maintenance promotes and revives the cultural identity of one’s ethnic group. The environment greatly influences language maintenance as the involvement of heritage language communities like organizing weekend language schools encourages heritage language learners. This is because these learners are exposed to a more formal instruction in heritage language community schools and as such participate in varieties of cultural activities that shape their perception of the language under study. (Kondo-Brown 2006: 18, 19)
2.1.2 Language Loss
Language loss occurs when speakers of the said language no longer use the language in everyday situations. That is, they are not able to use the language in conversations with friends or read newspapers without referring to a dictionary. Language loss is a gradual process that is not caused by a change in a group’s characteristic, rather it results from the loss that takes place in individuals of a minority language group. (Fase et al. 1992: 8) Migrant languages also face language loss as immigrants may find it difficult to uphold and speak the said language due to factors like social structures and dominant cultures of the host country. (Renen 2014: 4-5)
Jackson II and Hogg (2010) define language loss as “the suppression of an indigenous language or mother tongue”. Further, Jackson II and Hogg (2010) proposed two situations that can lead to language loss with the first being the total destruction of a group leading to a natural disappearance of the language because of the absence of any of its speakers. The second condition is that in which the people are dislocated and uprooted from their linguistic community of origin. The dislocation process may strip the people of their language. Looking at the above causal conditions of language loss proposed by Jackson II and Hogg, it is evident that language loss is a product of domination, power, and control from the majority group and language. For example, the power and fame subsumed in a majority language may cause speakers of the marginalized communities to identify more with the majority language in order to shun the inferiority associated with the migrant language and embrace the benefits that come with the majority language. In the situation of migrants in the host society, language loss can result from the need of migrants to integrate into the new community in order to survive economically or socially. In that case, these migrants may abandon their language and learn the language of their new society. (Jackson II and Hogg 2010:
422:424)
Language loss has significant effects on the minority group. Most of the groups lost their culture, religion and other beliefs as a result of complete assimilation in the new culture. This is because the minorities believe knowledge in the language and culture of the new or dominant group serves as a means of socio-cultural and economic development in the new world. (Jackson II and Hogg 2010: 422-424)
2.1.3 Acculturation
When people migrate, they not only experience a change in geographical location, they also encounter new cultures, languages and new ways of life. In the domain of language which can be considered a feature that is subsumed under the cultural makeup of identity formation in individuals, immigrants usually experience a struggle between their native language and the dominant language of their new society. Thus, immigrants can either learn the language of the host country to attain satisfactory proficiency in the language alongside maintaining, rejecting or losing the native language. Or they can also refrain from learning the language of the host country. This is also a possibility. It is worth noting that acculturation strategies are intertwined with immigrants’
willingness to learn the language of the host country. (Isurin 2011: 207-208) According to Berry (2005: 698), acculturation is defined as
“[…] dual process of cultural and psychological change that takes place as a result of contact between two or more cultural groups and their individual members. At the group level, it involves changes in social structures and institutions and in cultural practices. At the individual level, it involves changes in a person’s behavioral repertoire.” (Berry, 2005:
698)
Acculturation takes place as a result of migration which leads to the coming together of two or more languages and cultures. Different groups and individuals find themselves in the host society for different motives, and this is the reason why migrants do not go through the acculturation process in the same way. Acculturation involves a long process for individuals and in the case of a group it might take years, generations and even centuries, it also requires different forms of mutual accommodation, which may in some cases lead to long term sociocultural and psychological adaptations between the immigrants and the host group. That is, as long as two or more cultures are in contact, different acculturation processes will be used by immigrants to negotiate through the host society. (Berry 2005: 698)
Berry (2005) proposed four acculturation strategies namely: integration, assimilation, marginalization, and separation. These acculturation strategies consist of two elements that are usually connected, attitudes and behaviors. Attitudes in this context refer to an individual’s preference on how to acculturate, behaviors, on the other hand, comprise of a person’s actual activities. The choice and consequences of an acculturation strategy basically depend on both cultural and psychological factors that precede the implementation of acculturation. (Berry 2005:
704)
According to Berry, the four acculturation strategies mentioned above can be classified under two main themes. That is the difference between “a relative preference for maintaining one’s heritage culture and identity and a relative preference for making contact with and participating in the larger society along with other ethnocultural groups” as explained in the figure below.
Figure 2: Four acculturation strategies. (Berry 2005:705)
From the figure above, the left circle represents different acculturation processes adopted by immigrants to integrate into the host society. It is worth noting that each acculturation strategy used by the immigrants is influenced by their attitude towards the host society.
The acculturation strategy of assimilation is adopted in a context where the migrant group or migrants are ready to interact with other cultures with the aim to learn these cultures and replace them with their culture of origin, that is, they do not wish to maintain their cultural identity, hence give up their culture. According to Berry (2005), “at the ethnographic level of observation, assimilation is rarely the goal embraced by acculturating groups because although cultural change is common, cultural groups all over the world have not disappeared and cultural sameness has not resulted from intercultural contact.” (Berry 2005: 705-706)
The separation strategy is the best for migrant groups or migrants to implement when they stick to their original cultural identity and try as much as possible to avoid contact with other cultures to maintain their heritage culture. In this case, migrants completely reject the cultures and way of life of the host society thereby upholding their culture zealously. The acculturation strategy of separation can also be practice in multicultural societies where migrant groups create new cultures as a result of resistance towards assimilating into the host country. (Berry 2005: 705-706)
The integration strategy is mostly influenced by the wish of the migrant groups to uphold cultural integrity and the need of getting involved in the larger social system which is the host country in this case. In this context, migrant groups interact with other cultures with the aim of accepting these cultures alongside maintaining their heritage culture. Migrants usually adopt the integration strategy because of the benefits that come with learning and embracing the host culture. It should be noted that integration can only be “freely” chosen and successfully pursued by the migrant group only in multicultural situations where the host country is open and inclusive in its orientation towards cultural diversity. That is to say that a mutual effort is required to succeed in the acculturation strategy of integration. (Berry 2005: 705-706)
The marginalization strategy is adopted in cases where migrant groups are less willing to maintain heritage culture and identity and have little interest in interacting with other cultures. This is common in contexts where the culture of migrant groups experience cultural loss and at the same time exclusion and discrimination from the larger society. Nevertheless, these strategies are explained from the perspective of the non-dominant groups; the explanation is based on the assumption that these groups have the possibility to choose acculturation methods that they deem doable. (Berry 2005: 705)
However, there are perspectives in which the dominant group may impose acculturation strategies on non-dominant groups. From the right side of the figure, on the point of view of the dominant society, the “melting pot” represents situations where assimilation is being required by the dominant group. “Segregation” occurs when the dominant group imposes separation. When the dominant group enforces exclusion, marginalization comes to play. In addition, in contexts where diversity is the major characteristic of the society comprising all ethnocultural groups, multiculturalism is implemented. It should be noted that with this approach it could be possible for comparisons to be made between individuals and their groups and between non-dominant groups and the larger society. (Berry 2005: 706)
2.2 Language, Identity, and Diaspora
Identity, language, and diaspora are closely related. Identity is intertwined with language and for anything to be called language it must be spoken by a group of people within a particular geographical location. Thus, when people migrate, they carry along language and identity with them to the host country (Diaspora). According to Ludmila (2011), language is an important component of the cultural makeup and identity formation in a multicultural context. That is, for
immigrants, both the language of origin and that of the host society are associated with their cultural adaptation and the transformation in their self-perception when negotiating bilingualism.
This is to say that, the comfort of home and sense of belonging, can be linked closely to the native language for some and with a complete rejection of that language by others. (Ludmila 2011: 222)
2.2.1 Identity
Every human, thing or object possess an identity. The concept of identity is one with too many definitions, as its definition proves contradictory and slippery because everyone has different perspectives on what identity is all about. Lawler (2008) claims that the view of identity centers on its contradictory nature of sameness and difference because the meaning of identity is derived from the root of a Latin word “idem” which literarily means “same” which gives rise to the word
“identical”. From this explanation, it is evident that identity deals with grouping, sameness, and uniqueness. (Lawler 2008: 2-4)
Schwartz et al. (2011) on their part, refer to identity as the implicit or explicit responses people give to the question “who are you?” This simple question of “who are you?” conveys different meanings to different individuals or groups in different situations. It may require answers tied to self-definition, group identity, or actions. Hence, the identity question, “Who are you?” is pregnant with a range of diverse, related context and processes, which may include ancestors, body or spouse. (Schwartz et al. 2011: 2-3)
Sociologists like Bauman (2004) hold the claim that the issue of identity was not troubling before the rapid increase in globalization, migration and the fall of nations due to war and other disasters.
However, identity has become unstable due to constant changes in the social world. Bauman further explains that in early years, ‘natural identity’ such as national identity was not faced with competition or opposition as is the case today where national identity is highly cultural and constructed. This explains why people always try to negotiate, apologize, hide or proudly display their identity when interacting in a multicultural society. (Bauman 2004: 8-12)
Lawler (2008) considers identity as a social and collective process, not an individual and unique possession. That is, identity can be constructed and lost through social interactions. She further explains that identity formation takes place through our experiences and that identities are produced through our daily engagements, even though not many will officially write an autobiography. Therefore, identity is constructed through the combination of understandings,
experiences, knowledge, and interpretations that are told through narratives and everyday interactions. These narratives and interactions are not a true representation of identities rather their interpretations and reinterpretation serve as the basis for understanding the world, others and ourselves. (Lawler 2008: 2-19)
Leeman (2015: 101-103) points out that social constructivists have a different perspective from that of earlier essentialists who consider identity to be a static entity embedded in people.
“Contemporary social constructivist accounts emphasize that the people’s sense of themselves and of their relationship to the world is shifting and multiple. Identities are not fixed within the individual but instead are shaped and constrained by the macro- and micro- level socio-historical contexts, including societal ideologies, power relations, and institutional policies.” (Leeman 2015: 101-103)
The above excerpt explains that the identity of an individual or group can be negotiated and re- negotiated in intercultural settings. This is because identity is not inborn but it is rather constructed both at the social, historical and political levels. That is, an individual or group can have multiple identities at one point and lose all these identities at another point in time. (Leeman 2015: 101- 103)
2.2.2 Language and identity
According to Evans (2014) language in a discourse, context is more than grammar. That is words, phrases, sentences or intonation and other linguistics properties. Language is symbolic and expresses ways of being in the world by creating meanings that relate to us in terms of identity.
Language in this context can be referred to as a social component in the process of identity formation because other features like attitude and perception come to play when using language in an intercultural setting. (Evans 2014: 9)
Evans (2014) further termed language a two-edged sword, which apart from limiting identity also creates an identity. Therefore, incompetence in a language of a particular group by an individual may restrict them from identifying with that group even if that individual is born in that group or nation. On the other hand, competence in a language may give way for the said individual to identify with the group or language to which the language belongs. (Evans 2014: 4)
Some researchers consider language as a social variable and resource, which is dependent on community, shared norms and on the perceptual and ideological aspects of identity as a social construct. Bassiouney (2014), on his part, came up with a two-fold role of language in identity
formation. According to his assertion, language can be used as a resource when presenting a common identity to coherent communities that have similar perceptions, ideologies, and habits. In this context, code-switching and code-choice play a significant role because the code one chooses in a public discourse reveals his or her self-positioning and perception in relation to others.
(Bassiouney 2014: 41)
2.2.3 Cultural identity and the Diasporas
The Dictionary of Media and Communication (2011), defines cultural identity “as the definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender).” (Chandler and Munday 2011:
84) According to Fong and Chuang (2004), individuals observe cultural identity at international, national and personal levels in what they term “real” ways. That is, people establish solid communities (e.g. Somalis in Finland) and others going to war because of the unifying strength in their cultural identities. That is while some migrant groups, on one hand, come together to form an association in order to uphold their cultural values and identity in the host country, and on the other hand, the minor group of a community may go to war against the major group in that same community in order to maintain their culture and identity. (Fong and Chuang 2004: 70)
Hall 1996 cited by Nicholas (2014: 22-23) proposed two ways of perceiving cultural identity in the diaspora; the first is cultural identity with regards to:
“One shared culture, a sort of collective “one true self”, hiding inside the many other, more superficial or artificially imposed “selves”, which people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common…this “oneness” underlying all the other more superficially differences is the truth.”(Nicholas 2014: 22-23)
According to Nicholas (2014: 22-23), the second form of cultural identity in the diaspora examines cultural identity as
“[…] a matter of “becoming” as well as of “being”. It belongs to the future as much as to the past. It is not something which already exists, transcending place, time, history, and culture. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation.”(Nicholas 2014:22-23)
The identity of the diaspora imagined community is unstable because it is “constituted within the crucible of the materiality of everyday life, in the everyday stories people tell individually and collectively.” Hence, immigrants sometimes hold strong to their cultural identity when referring to
their place of origin in a multicultural context. Ethnicity has been used by sociologist as an important factor in identity building in the diasporas. That is, it is used as a social construct indicating uniqueness and difference and has been one of the key elements in of cultural identity.
(Benedict 1983: 50-52) 2.3 Heritage Language
According to Obor (2006) language embodies a non-verbal structure of cultural values, thus the existence of a language guarantees the existence and preservation of culture and the group of this culture. On the other hand, the loss of a language eventually means a loss of culture and identity.
Therefore, language maintenance in the diasporas through the teaching of heritage language in informal settings includes culture as an important constituent in the learning process. This serves as an instrument in reconstructing ethnic or national identity in the diaspora where these identities are endangered by diversity. (Obor 2006: 349)
Valdes (2005: 411) in one of his articles, mentions that “heritage language is used generally to refer to non-societal and non-majority languages spoken by groups often known as linguistic minorities.” From this definition, the minorities include “a group of people who are either indigenous to a particular region to a present-day nation-state or belong to a population that has migrated to areas other than their own region or country of origin.” (Valdes 2005: 411)
According to Aravossitas and Trifonas (2014), what constitutes heritage language must be able to be reinvented to include fluid understandings of bilingualism and multilingualism. That is, one that comprises of not just home languages and trans-language, but also the way in which this trans- language breaks the continuity and tradition of existing cultural norms. (Aravossitas and Trifonas 2014: 266) It is worth noting that the term used to refer to such languages has an effect on the way its learners perceive their identity in bilingual societies, especially learners of the minority group.
(Valdes 2001)
2.3.1 Heritage language learner
Generally, the person studying a language that is connected to the culture, ancestors, ethnic group and family in an informal or formal setting is referred to as heritage language learner. According to Valdes (2005), “there are two types of heritage language learners.
The first comprises of members of linguistic minorities who are concerned about the study, maintenance, and revitalization of their minority languages. Such minorities include populations who are either natives to a specific region of a present-day nation-state or persons that have migrated to areas other than their own native land.” (Valdes 2005: 411)
The second type of heritage language learners refers to a student who is raised in a home where a language other than the majority language of the said community is spoken. Such a student may speak and understand just the basics of the said heritage language and still be considered as bilingual in the majority language and the heritage language. (Valdes 2005: 412)
These categories are connected because the first category comprises of parents of members of the second category. That is offspring of immigrants and second generation immigrants. The difference between this two categories is that the second category of heritage language learners (second generation immigrants) have no prior knowledge of the language under study. While the first category member has prior knowledge and is learning the language with the aim of maintaining and improving it. These categories can be applied to the Finnish educational system where children learn heritage language through after-school programs in schools, weekend classes organized by ethnic communities of the heritage language and at home by parents and other relatives.
2.3.2 Heritage language teaching and learning
The increase in ethnic diversity has given rise to multilingualism since ethnic groups speak different languages other than the major languages. Thus, the desire to maintain and promote these languages and bilingualism has given birth to heritage language teaching. Also, plural societies to an extent encourage the teaching and learning of heritage language with the aim to increase knowledge in its speaker’s and facilitate second language learning. (Valdes 2005: 411)
According to Valdes (2005), heritage language teaching has expanded significantly since the early 1970s. This has led to an increase in heritage learners and improvements in educational approaches and resources. Heritage language communities have established heritage language programs with the objective of developing the proficiencies of learners of the said languages. (Valdes 2005: 411) Cummins (2005) further explains that there is massive loss of national language resources because of the limited opportunities for young children to use and become literate in their heritage language.
In addition, the use of a particular language as the only medium of instruction in these heritage
language schools causes children to be ashamed of speaking and identifying with the heritage language. The use of the home language in school is important in promoting heritage language speakers to perceive their multilingual talents as a treasured element of their identities. (Cummins 2005: 586-590)
It is important to state at this juncture that, there are stages in heritage language learning where parents (informal setting, home), and teachers (formal setting, school learners, weekend lessons), negotiate the heritage language teaching process. Such method is implemented when parents want children to be more advanced in the heritage language because in the formal heritage language school there is a possibility for children to learn numerous grammatical features and the written form of the heritage language accurately. (Bilash 2011: 1)
Research has proven that heritage language teaching is significant in cultural and identity learning.
This is because heritage language teaching is not just to teach the linguistic forms of a language.
Rather, it also consists of teaching culture and identity since these programs lay emphasis on improving the significance of culture and identity. Bilash (2011) suggests that “language is both the repository and transmitter of a group’s culture, history and traditions. The study of heritage languages strengthens linguistic and cultural heritage, maintains a valuable economic resource and promotes intercultural and cross-cultural understanding in learners” (Bilash 2011: 1).
Researchers have proposed common outcomes of heritage language learning. Some of them include (Bilash 2011: 1)
i. The encouragement of the learner’s self-esteem
ii. Enhancement of communication, thereby bridging the gap between family members of different generations in the same cultural and linguistic group.
iii. Heritage language learning builds up the personal and cultural identity of its learners.
iv. Promotion of pride in heritage v. Increase in bilingual proficiency
vi. Provide opportunities to learn national languages
2.3.3 Heritage language teaching in a formal setting
According toCummins (2005), there are diverse strategies of teaching heritage language in formal settings, for example, a heritage language classroom. He proposes different teaching strategies that
can help communities and educators improve the academic performance and proficiency of students in both the target language and first language. (Cummins 2005: 586-590)
Cummins (2005) explains that Monolingual Instructional Assumptions limit the opportunities for learning the target language and improving the first language. This is because, in such teaching strategy, the first language and the language under study are used separately. In addition, instructions are carried out exclusively in the target language and the use of bilingual dictionaries is not allowed. (Cummins 2005:587)
Further, translation from the first to the target language is not encouraged. The assumption is that translation makes it more difficult for the heritage language learner to improve proficiency in the target language and the first language. Hence, Cummins (2005) proposes teaching strategies that provide heritage language learners with opportunities to better develop proficiency in the heritage language and at the same time excel in the academic performance of the first language. He terms the strategy “Teaching for Cross-linguistic Transfer.” (Cummins 2005: 587-590)
Teaching for cross-linguistic transfer is a method of heritage language teaching whereby bilingualism is the key instrument in the classroom. Children are encouraged to use their first language in the classroom because the first language plays an important role in learning the heritage language (Cummins 2005: 588) Cummins further explain three strategies that are embodied in teaching for cross-linguistic transfer. It should be noted that these strategies can be applied in monolingual instructional contexts to better improve learning outcomes. These strategies include the following:
a) Cognate Relationships
This involves the similarity in meanings of words between two languages. Languages that are cognitively related like Spanish and English can be used by heritage language students to enhance the learning process. Thus, encouraging students to relate the meaning of words in their first language and the language under study as they read words, phrases, sentences, or stories helps in transferring their first language knowledge to the target language, thereby improving their proficiency in both languages. (Cummins 2005: 588-589)
b) Dual Language Books
This bilingual strategy deals with designing dual language books. Students are asked to write stories in their first languages and later translate into the heritage language they are studying with
the help of their parents, teachers and other relatives. This helps new students express their thoughts, intellect, and experiences to both their teachers and peers. Dual language websites have been created to enable students to share stories with relatives and friends from their country of origin. This bilingual instruction strategy encourages students to use translation programs like Google Translate or Babel Fish for editing in both languages. Though the option of using computer translation programs has limitations by producing an inaccurate translation for students, it gives room for teamwork with students and teachers with the goal of providing an accurate translation.
(Cummins 2005: 589) c) Sister Class Projects
According to this method of teaching, students interact with a sister class in a technologically mediated way, using the dominant language and the language under study to create literature and art or to examine issues of social importance to them and their communities. The sister class projects can act as a huge encouragement for students to engage in language learning and language maintenance activities. (Cummins 2005: 590)
From the above instruction strategies, it is evident that heritage language teaching provides opportunities for children to excel academically. Thus, it is advisable for educators to accommodate home languages in the classroom, thereby encouraging heritage language students to be aware of the advantages of their multilingual identities. (Cummins 2005: 586-590)
Denham and Lobeck (2006) also propose the use of bilingual instruction in the classroom. These scholars suggest that teachers in heritage language schools should provide an environment that encourages bilingualism in both the heritage language and other languages. This can be done by involving the heritage language community members and teachers in an effort to provide flexible linguistic and cultural experiences. In addition, teachers can swap teaching materials with inviting elders from the heritage language community to the classroom to tell stories, give talks and presentations on educational and cultural topics. (Denham and Lobeck 2006)
In Finland, where the Finnish Education Board funds the teaching of heritage languages, schools offer two hours of heritage language instruction a week. Immigrant children often attend such classes after their normal school hours and on weekends; this is the case of Swahili lessons on Saturdays in Helsinki. The promotion of heritage language teaching by the Finnish National Board of Education is a motivation to foster the learning of Finnish as a second language. (Finnish National Board of Education, not dated)
2.3.4 Heritage language teaching in informal setting
Heritage language teaching in informal settings largely takes place at home, and heritage language educators need to advise parents to use the heritage language all the time at home with their children because this does not only introduce and give them an insight of their culture and identity, but it also fosters their acquisition of the majority language. This is because multilingual children are likely to show greater readiness to recognise language structures and are more advanced in phonological, lexical and semantic awareness. (Chen et al. 2010: 176) A heritage language learning environment greatly influences the learning process of its learners, thus a non-heritage environment with the absence of parents, grandparents, elders and other peers from the heritage community slows down the heritage language learning process. This is because there are fewer linguistic inputs like historic and other cultural stories and experiences which heritage language learners need in order to enhance the learning process. (Bilash 2011: 1)
According to Chen at al. (2010), consistent communication between parents and children in the heritage language in their early age is the first step of teaching that language. Research has proven that inconsistent communication using the heritage language is usually a reason for failure in heritage language learning. (Chen et al. 2010: 176)
Bilash (2011) also explains that exposing children to heritage language at home by parents is crucial in teaching heritage language. The question many will ask is how much exposure is needed for a child to learn a language. It is worth nothing that though scientifically no exact linguistic input has been recommended, scholars like Wang (2008) have suggested that a child needs multiple exposures to a heritage language in order to successfully acquire it. In addition, reading routines, personal experiences and storytelling, de-contextualised language exchanges and a print-rich environment are credited as inputs to enhance heritage language learning at home. This method can be successful especially if parents choose wisely stories that are of interest to the children and the right moments in their lives to tell them. (Bilash 2011: 1)
It is important at some point in time for parents to cooperate with teachers, heritage language schools, and communities. Bilash (2011) concludes by pointing out that each developmental stage in heritage language learning requires a new task. Studies have proved that consistent communication between parents and children in their early years matches the initial stage. The task of matching the home and school language of children by parents is carried out as the children transition from staying at home with the parents to schools such as Preschools and Kindergartens.
This is because heritage language teaching in schools is to an extent advanced as compared to that spoken at home by parents. The Heritage language literacy skills should be the main task when children are in elementary and secondary school. (Bilash 2011: 1)
2.3.5 Language teaching and gender
Over the years, the interrelationship between language and gender has been of great interest in studies like applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, gender studies, conversation analysis and other disciplines. The relationship between language and gender has diverse interpretations and emerged as a separate field of inquiry in the 1970s. This research was prompted by feminist concerns about the connections between sex, power, and language. (Pavlenko et al.
2001: 17)
Women have a great role to play in language, as was the case of Provencal and Breton mothers who initiated language shifts by refusing to teach their children the primary language of the community. They rather spoke French to their children as they perceived it to be associated with modernity, urbanity and higher social status while perceiving Provencal and Breton as inferior.
Still, in this domain, the death of the East Sutherland Gaelic was triggered by the refusal of women to transmit the language to children in the 1930s. (Aneta et al. 2001: 30)
Historically, African women have always be subjected to taking care of the home and all that is in it including children. In addition, it may be difficult for women to utter a word or make any decision concerning the running of the home. Thus, they carry on the manual work of cooking, taking care of the laundry, teaching the children cultural or religious values and cultivating food products for home consumption or sale. Politically, women were totally excluded in parliaments and occupied the back sits in church.
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research questions for this study is answered by conducting a qualitative research using a thematic approach. Research has proven that gender and sociology researchers often include intersectionality when analysing data. Collins (2000: 17-18) defines intersectionality as “an analysis claiming that systems of race, social class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, and age form mutually constructing features of social organization, which shape Black women’s experiences and in turn are shaped by Black women”. That is, the intersectional approach is specifically concerned with the formation of social identities and argues that researchers need to think outside the box (Collins 2000: 17-18).
3.1 Narrative Interviews
Riessman, (2007:1) defines narrative thematic analysis as follows.
“Thematic analysis where content is the exclusive focus (minimal focus on how the narrative is spoken/written). This form of analysis is close to grounded theory but keeps the story intact and often uses prior theoretical concepts. Thematic meanings and understanding the ‘point’ of the narrative are emphasized over language and form. Narratives are often situated in their macro context while the local context is neglected.” (Riessman 2007:1)
According to researchers, a narrative engages the audience in the narrator’s world. It invites listener, viewers into the perceptions of the narrator. Narratives also mobilize others into action for progressive change. Riessman (2007) defines narrative analysis as the family method for interpreting texts that have in common a storied form. These texts can be oral, written or visual and the basis for analysis is case-centred. Cases that form the basis for a narrative analysis include individuals, communities, identity groups, organizations or even nations. Narrative inquiry focuses in particular on how an individual narrates a story, the language used and content of the narrative.
In addition, narrative studies rely “on extended accounts that are preserved and treated analytically as units, rather than fragmented into thematic categories, as is the case for other forms of qualitative analysis such as grounded theory.” A good narrative analysis prompts readers to think beyond the texts and therefore move towards a broader commentary. (Riessman 2007: 11-13)
Narrative interviews guarantee authentic and unique data for the researcher to carry out an intensive research by merging the life experiences of the group, individual or society under study and the socio-historical contexts, to enhance the interpretation of the ideas that redefined the beliefs and values that influence the perceptions of the interviewees. Therefore, the narrative interview is more significant in conducting qualitative research since qualitative research lays emphasis on
constructing different perspectives of the real world that cannot be determined quantitatively.
(Muylaert et al. 2014: 187-188) 3.2 Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis is one of the widest research methods used by qualitative researchers. According to Braun and Clark (2006), thematic analysis is the most common method for “identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data. It minimally organizes and describes your data set in (rich) detail. However, frequently it goes further than this, and interprets various aspects of the research topic.” (Braun and Clark 2006: 79)
4 DATA COLLECTION
This section examines the motivation and choice of participants involved in the interviews. It is followed by a detailed demographic representation of participants and concludes with an explanation of the method used in collecting the data for this study.
4.1 Interviewed participants for the study
For the purpose of this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Kenyan immigrant mothers having children between the ages of two to twenty. This is because linguistic research has proven that children usually learn languages at their young ages (Chapelton 2016: 1) this does not invalidate the fact that some teens learn languages even faster depending on the method and reason for learning the language. The Swahili teacher of the Kenyan Association in Finland was also interviewed. All the participants live in the city of Helsinki, which has the highest number of immigrants and is the most multicultural city in Finland. These mothers were chosen on the following research-based criteria:
i. They are Kenyan citizens who have lived in Finland for more than seven years ii. They have children between the ages of 2 to 20 years, who are born in Finland.
iii. They speak Swahili fluently besides one or more other languages
There was no precise criteria regarding marital status, the level of bilingualism, the level of education, occupation and the reason for migrating to Finland. The reason for excluding these criteria during the selection of participants was intended to investigate through the data provided during the interviews if they impacted the perspective of the participants. In addition, including the above criteria when making the choice of participants for the interview would have somehow limited the number of participants for the research.
Before the main interview session, a brief explanation was given to the participants about the research, and the purpose of the interview. Each participant’s permission was also requested since the interviews were recorded. In addition, the confidentiality of their names and identities was guaranteed, hence names are changed in the analysis, except that of the Kenyan Association in Finland. This is with the consent of the board of the Association.
It is worth noting that an official study plan was submitted to the Kenyan Association in Finland through the Secretary General; this study plan concisely explains the purpose of the study. The thesis plan was duly approved by the Kefiso board and attached on the association’s website and
